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Commission recommends plan modification for middle‑school redevelopment; TIF cited as necessary to make project feasible
Summary
The planning commission recommended a plan modification for the middle‑school redevelopment project, endorsing use of a $1.8 million TIF bond as part of a financing package; commissioners heard that the project would create 68 apartments and rely on several grant and loan sources. Vote recorded as 5 in favor, 1 opposed, 1 abstention.
The Hastings Planning Commission on Jan. 21 voted to recommend approval of a plan modification for a middle‑school redevelopment project that the CRA and developer say is not financially feasible without tax‑increment financing.
Staff presented the plan modification (Plan Modification No. 2026‑1) for Redevelopment Area No. 1, describing the redevelopment area as approximately 1.69 acres and noting a pro forma in which a proposed TIF bond issue of $1,800,000 would be paid down with the increment over 15 years.
"The TIF bond issue would be $1,800,000 and the next 15 years that tax increment will be used to pay down those bonds," the staff report stated during the hearing. The staff presentation said the project conformed with the comprehensive plan and that, without TIF, the project had a negative return on investment and would likely not proceed.
Randy Chick (CRA) said the CRA still owns the building and described additional funding already secured or approved, including a rural workforce housing loan fund award, CRA funds and an award from the Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and noted the city received an EPA cleanup grant for the site.
Developer representative Dave Rippy described the proposed adaptive‑reuse project as 68 apartment units — 58 market‑rate and 10 "floating" units that would align with the Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Fund award — plus very limited commercial or amenity spaces. "What we're looking at... is trying to understand the pathway to converting a significant community‑owned liability into an asset that can serve this town," Rippy said.
Shannon Landauer of the Chamber and Hastings Economic Development Corporation (HEDC) said HEDC is a funding partner and that the project met state criteria for infill and adaptive reuse, and reiterated the project's role in addressing local housing shortages.
After discussion the commission recommended approval; the hearing record shows the vote recorded as passing with 5 in favor, 1 opposed and 1 abstention. The transcript does not list individual votes by name in the publicly read record.
Next steps: the recommendation will be forwarded to City Council; if council approves the plan modification and TIF authorization, the financing package and redevelopment plan would move to implementation and permitting steps.
